Letters to Pluto

Less Than 1 AU and Counting…

Dear Pluto,

A few days ago the New Horizons spacecraft passed an important milestone: it was 1 A.U. from its major target: Pluto. that means YOU!  That also means it was as far away from you as Earth is from the Sun. By now, it’s even closer.  A lot of us here on Earth are keeping track of the spacecraft’s whereabouts by checking the New Horizons web site counter that lets us know where things stand for the mission.

A few days before THAT, New Horizons did a little mid-course correction to get it lined up even more precisely for its trip past you on July 14, 2015. At that point, the spacecraft was nearly 3 billion miles (4.77 billion kilometers) from the Sun, and that’s a record for a trajectory correction burn!

The excitement is building as the spacecraft gets closer and closer. The cameras are studying the Pluto system and just a month ago were able to spot the two tiny Plutonian moons Nyx and Hydra. As things progress, there will be more images and data, showing us an increasingly larger-looking Pluto and its worlds.

This is really a huge milestone project. One of my friends is the principal investigator for the mission—Alan Stern. He has boundless enthusiasm for this mission, which stretches back as long as I’ve known him. We were in graduate school at the same time at the University of Colorado, and had the same advisor. I remember going to his thesis defense, and hearing him give talks about Pluto and comets, and I’ve always learned a lot from him. I’m proud to continue our friendship many years later.

As you might expect for the PI of a mission to an outer world, Alan embraces all things Pluto—and I do mean ALL! Just today he sent me a link to a page called “Janet’s Planet”, which contains a cute Youtube video about how kids can connect with Pluto. The title of the vid is #DearPluto and it challenges kids to write a letter to Pluto. Alan has recorded his OWN video letter for Janet’s page, which you can see on HER Youtube page. Anybody can record or write a letter to you, Pluto. I think it’s really jazzy way to get kids hooked (even more) on Pluto! Even better, getting Plutophiles everywhere to get with their inner kid and send a note to their favorite world.

The next few months will be pretty exciting for Plutophiles, and we’re keeping an eye out on you, Pluto. It won’t be long before we are there and checking you out!

With great excitement,

Your friends on Earth.